Custody
by MufinXoxo
Summary: Due to strange circumstances, Tenten is forced to take custody of a certain Uchiha after his release from prison. There is, however, more to their past than appears and with plenty of annoying, awkward, scenarios, they are forced to cope with the situation; they are living under the same roof, if they like it or not.
1. They don't have enough prison cells

**A/N: **Enjoy! (^_^) -Mufin

**Warning:** There is a high chance that this fan fic is slightly crackish. It is also AU, so no massive fireballs unless a house is set on fire. The rating is currently T for swearing, etc.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Custody ~MufinXoxo

Chapter 1: They don't have enough prison cells...

Tenten waited nervously in front of the office. Yet again she wondered why she had been called to the office of the chief of this institution. She tentatively looked around at the bland, grey walls and the heavy metal door to her left. How could anyone work in a place like this? She shuddered.

"Come in!" a voice resounded from the other side of the door.

She tentatively pushed the door open and entered the room. The inside was definitely more friendly then the exterior. The walls were painted a pale blue and a metal desk stood in the middle of the room, with two metal chairs before it.

"Sit down." the man said, not looking up from where he had his nose buried in an orange book with a picture on front.

Tenten carefully placed herself on a chair, looking expectantly at the man sitting on the metal office chair behind the desk. Why do prisons have to make everything metal? she wondered to herself. On closer examination she noticed that the book had an image of a man chasing a woman on the front and was entitled 'Icha Icha Paradise'. She sweatdropped. Honestly, how did these people become heads of any department?

Tenten cleared her throat.

The man finally looked up from his book. He had a large amount of silver hair that spiked up in an odd fashion and a cloth mask that covered the lower half of his face. "Ah, yes, you are Akiyama Tenten, am I correct? My name is Kakashi Hatake."

Tenten nodded, her throat having suddenly become oddly dry under the man's scrutinizing look.

"Let us skip the formalities. To cut it short, you are here because we want you to take custody, so to speak, of Uchiha Sasuke." Kakashi continued after her affirmative.

.

..

...

"WHAT!?" Tenten exploded, barely restraining herself from jumping to her feet and slamming her hands on the table.

"Yes," Kakashi replied with surprising little emotion, which Tenten found slightly annoying considering her outburst.

"Why do I have to do it?" Tenten inquired, trying to regain some of her composure.

"Ah, according to these documents you went to the same school as him and know him personally." Kakashi flicked through a few pages, "You also went to the same university and knew each other on a first name basis before he was sentenced."

"Yes, but why me? I wasn't the only person in his class!" Tenten replied exasperated.

"Well, the others are all otherwise engaged. Nara Shikamaru is married to Temari and they have a squalling kid, so lumping him off- er, I mean, creating an environment for him in which he can be accepted into society and become stable again is impossible there."

"I heard you! You said something about lumping him off-"

Kakashi continued, ignoring her, "Yamanka Ino. Let's just say that would backfire and the necessary environment couldn't be created-"

"I heard that slip earlier! Stop talking about a positive environment!"

"Akamichi Choji is a famous chef and if I stress him the food quality in my favourite restaurant would go down-" Kakashi quickly corrected himself, "I was saying, he works in the evenings, so Sasuke would be left at home all by himself-"

"HE NEEDS TO LIVE WITH ME IF I TAKE CUSTODY?!"

"-Hyuuga Neji and Hyuuga Hinata belong to a wealthy family, unlike you-"

"Oi!"

"-, meaning that we wouldn't get away with their influence. Not to mention that I think Sasuke's attitude would mentally scar the easily frightened Hyuuga-san,-"

In this case Tenten could only agree. However, "How do you know it won't mentally scar me?"

"Inuzuka Kiba's and Sasuke's attitude aren't compatible. Not to mention that Inuzuka-san has a dog, Akamaru, which wouldn't go down well with our convict. Haruno Sakura is a important doctor and he might get away with everything if he lives with her, such as not getting up in the morning and not being able to fulfil the goal of becoming a individual able to navigate in society-"

"Cut out the whole accepted environment, better individual crap! You're running out of cells for prisoners, aren't you?!"

"-Aburame Shino is the silent type, they wouldn't even talk, destroying the idea of a good environment and social feeling required for society,-"

"STOP PRETENDING YOU CARE ABOUT SOCIETY!"

"Uzumaki Naruto is a diplomat, so it makes it hard to actually have anyone to look after him, because he wouldn't be there. Rock Lee has his own dojo and would probably only worsen the situation with his misplaced energy. Sasuke's brother, Itachi, is currently abroad and we haven't been able to contact him. His parents... well, it's complicated. So, any other questions? I have a paper for you to sign here-"

"NOOOOO!" Tenten cried, completely loosing her last shreds composure and dignity, running for the door screaming.

A lock on the door slipped into place and she helplessly banged her fist against the annoying sheet of metal. She turned around to glower at the man calmly sitting in his chair. She stalked back, snatched her orange bag up from the floor where it had fallen in her haste and sat down.

"What if I refuse?" she snapped, glaring at the man before her.

"Well, let's just say it isn't really a question of agreeing or not. Fact is, Uchiha Sasuke needs to find a way to become a person who can behave adequately in society and be accepted by society again. We know you have a two bedroom apartment, which means you won't have to move.-"

"Have you been stalking me?"

"-We will supply additional financial support for you to buy food and so on. All you have to do is look after him, as he is not allowed to live by himself but has finished his sentence. If you refuse, you will, let's see..." Kakashi flicked through some papers again, "Ah, here it says 'If the person in question refuses, they will loose all their money, their rental contract will be cancelled and their job, in your case at that jewellery blacksmithing store, will be lost as well.'"

"This is blackmail! Are you even a proper government official?!"

Kakashi blinked, "Yes, why do you ask?"

Tenten had the sudden urge to face palm herself, "Never mind..." Of course several things popped to mind; first and foremost blackmail; second, keeping her trapped in this room; third, reading a book like that _in public_.

Seeing no easy way out of her predicament, "How long do I have to look after him for?"

"That's the spirit!" Tenten wished her eyes could shoot laser beams and burn the infuriating man alive. "The contract says one year." Kakashi replied.

Tenten let out a sigh, "Give me a pen."

"Akiyama-san, you are honestly the best suited for the job."

"I wonder about that..." Tenten trailed off, defeated. After thoroughly reading the contract for any more traps, she scrawled her signature in the bottom right hand corner. Before she slammed the heavy door behind her, she heard Kakashi call, "Pick him up at nine o'clock here tomorrow morning! Be on time!" The door closed with an echoing thump.

What the hell had she gotten herself into?

She was sure she had shoved away that bit of her past...

* * *

**A/N: **For all intents and purposes I have decided to give Tenten the family name Akiyama. She needs one for this story, because they can't just call her by her first name, it's rude. Please leave a review and let me know what you think so far (^_^) – Mufin


	2. Bad dreams in reality

**A/N: **Thank you for the reviews for the last chapter, they made my day (^_^) -Mufin

**Warning:** Same as last chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, not even naruto.

* * *

Custody ~MufinXoxo

Chapter 2: Bad dreams in reality

The next morning Tenten awoke out of a peaceful slumber. She mildly remembered feeling as if she had experienced a nightmare, but shook off the feeling. She could barely recall it anyway.

Yawning, she stretched and started getting ready for the day. It was the weekend! A glorious Saturday! Nothing could ruin her mood now. She pulled on her faded jeans and a baggy burgundy t-shirt. Her hair went into the normal buns and she smiled at herself in the mirror. With all the pressure to work over time in order to meet the growing popularity of their little jewellery shop, she had spent the last few weekends working over time on new designs. Finally she had the whole weekend just to herself.

As she left her room she saw the spare bedroom opposite her own. Somehow seeing it irked her, as if it was connected with a bad memory. She had only rented a two bedroom apartment in the first place to have an extra space to keep the jewellery she finished off at home and for when relatives or friends visited. The rest of the apartment was small, with only one bathroom for both bedrooms. These three rooms branched off in a small corridor, whilst the rest was just a large room with an open kitchen, a worn out sofa, a TV and a small dining table. She had her desk in her room.

She hummed, happily placing a piece of bread in the toaster and opening the window, taking a deep breath of the wonderfully fresh air. Maybe she would just watch reruns of old TV episodes, or tidy her room, or... her eyes rested on a ripped open envelope and a slightly crunched letter lying on the dining room table. She eyed it suspiciously, carefully heading over to the offending piece of paper.

Suddenly memories of the evening before came flooding back.

It hadn't been a nightmare.

She grabbed the letter and glanced at the clock.

"SHIT!"

She thought she heard a few birds leave their perch on a nearby tree through the open window. She mentally scolded herself; her neighbours wouldn't enjoy her outburst.

Tenten ran to her room and grabbed her orange bag, throwing the letter on her desk in the process. Her room really was a mess- and any hope of cleaning it had just vanished. She located one of her flip flops on the floor and started desperately scrambling around on the floor for the other one. Finding it five minutes later she quickly jammed her foot into it and straightened herself out. Brushing of her jeans, she ran to the door and only barely remembered to lock it.

"Good morning Sarutobi-san!" she called over her shoulder after almost running the old man over as he was getting his milk bottles for the day. Huh, she thought she had heard the clanking of a milk bottle rolling around on the floor as she left her apartment. Instead of taking the lift she ran down the stairs, two at a time.

Jumping into her green Jeep, she glanced at the dashboard. 9:08. She'd be there at 9:30,otherwise she didn't want to think of the possible consequences. The useless prison chief had told her to be on time.

###

Tenten was standing in front of the office, and it was precisely 9:41. The door was locked and no one was inside, she was sure of that. Silently fuming, she paced backwards and forwards in front of the door.

"Oh, hello." Kakashi said, appearing around the corner. His head was still buried in the book, but he was significantly further than the day before, "I was helping an old lady with her shopping..."

"Don't lie! Old ladies don't go shopping at this time!"

"Oops, my bad." Kakashi commented, unlocking the door.

"Did you know that lying is bad?" Tenten commented in an annoyed tone.

"Exactly that is what I've been telling all these prisoners."

"I wonder where they got it from." Honestly, this man was wearing on her already frayed nerves.

She slumped down in the chair she had occupied the day before, whilst Kakashi positioned himself behind his desk.

"So, you will be taking custody of Uchiha Sasuke today. You signed the paper yesterday, meaning you will have to take care of him for a year. That means until the 27th of February next year you will have to look after him. After this meeting, please go to the financial department and collect the money. You will get more this time round for buying furniture and so on."

"Why can't he just sleep on the couch?"

Kakashi just looked at her as if she was stupid, "What is the spare bedroom for then? No, he must sleep there, and we will be checking. For the socially accepted environment purposes of course."

"Lying is bad. Anyway, now that I think about it, why didn't you try therapy, or a counsellor, if you really want to make him an acceptable member of society?"

Kakashi just looked at her, "We did. They ran out of the room much like you did yesterday, except that the door wasn't locked."

Tenten blanched, just as she heard the door open. She carefully turned around, spotting a certain Uchiha standing in the doorway.

###

Uchiha Sasuke was wearing a pair of black trousers and a white, button-up shirt. He looked at Tenten with obvious disdain, forcing her to fight the urge to get up and punch that infuriatingly calm face.

"Ah, here is Uchiha-san. Please sit down in this place next to Akiyama-san." Whilst Sasuke sat down, Kakashi continued,"Now, Uchiha is allowed to go out during the day. He will be working for four hours everyday during the week, from ten to two o'clock. It is, however, strongly suggested that he gets up at the same time as you, Akiyama-san, which is around six o'clock in the morning. Understood, Uchiha-san?" he eyed Sasuke, "His weekends are free like yours, but you should do something together on them, such as visiting the wide range of pottery classes we have to offer- "

"_Pottery _classes?" Honestly, this was getting ridiculous.

"Uchiha will have to be back at your apartment by 8 o'clock every evening. There are no exceptions to this rule and if he is not back by that time you are obliged to contact us. We will then search for you, Uchiha, and the consequences will not be particularly nice. Uchiha, you are also not allowed to drive and not permitted access to any computer. You will listen to what Akiyama-san says and you will do as she says. If she says you are visiting a pottery class, then you are visiting a pottery class-"

"Why a _pottery _class?" Tenten inquired, desperate for an answer to the question. Of all the classes one could have, why _pottery_?

"They improve hand to eye co-ordination. Back to my point, you have to listen to everything she says, Uchiha. You may be exempt if she asks you to do ridiculous things like telling you to go kill yourself, or asking you to sleep with he-"

"WAIT! STOP THERE YOU PERVERTED OLD MAN! ARE YOU SUGGESTING WHAT I THINK YOU ARE?! I WOULD RATHER DIE!"

Sasuke eyed Tenten coolly, "That is the only topic I think I will agree with you on, Akiyama-_san_." His eyes looked at her, taking in her rumpled appearance, messy hair and general presentation.

Anger flared within Tenten. She was wearing loose, big clothes, so what? She had been in a hurry this morning! She could see he was thinking she wasn't worth it and that annoyed Tenten a lot. She had some pride. Just because he looked good wearing that white shirt and pretty much everything else didn't mean she was also that picture perfect. Bastard. Tenten felt her anger boil over, "You..."

"Now Akiyama-san," Kakashi quickly said, sweatdropping, "Please take these papers and make sure to drop Uchiha off here in a week's time again, at ten o'clock, so we can discuss any issues that may have arisen, how he is coping with the new dictatorship he finds himself under and so on. Here is the rest of the paperwork to read through. Have fun going to the finance department. Bye!" Kakashi turned back to his book and flicked the page, his actions dismissing them.

Tenten didn't really register Kakashi's comment about dictatorship due to the enraged haze she found herself in, so she simply got up and left the room, furious. She didn't look to see if Sasuke was following her but heard his longer strides easily matching her short, angry staccato ones. That he was able to keep up annoyed her even more and her pace quickened until she was almost running.

"Akiyama-_san_, do you even know where you are going?"

The realisation that she did not, in fact, know where she was going brought Tenten up short. Where was she going? She looked around and saw that she was in some grey corridor, completely and utterly lost. Not that she would tell him so, "I know where I am going." was all she said.

"Hn. Then how come I know the financial department is in the other direction?"

Tenten turned around and gave Sasuke a sugary smile which looked more like a death threat, "Uchiha, I know where I am going."

Sasuke apparently thought better than as to further argue with a crazy woman and didn't speak again. After another twenty minutes of mindless storming through the whole building , Tenten finally saw a sign that proudly read _Financial Department_, with an arrow pointing to the left. Childishly pretending she hadn't been looking at it Tenten followed the sign, not wanting to let her follower know that she _had _been genuinely lost.

At the financial booth Tenten found herself face to face with a rather obnoxious woman. She had red hair and eyes, wearing glasses along with a rather superior expression. _Karin_ proclaimed her metal(what a surprise. Everything, including hearts, were metal around here, Tenten thought rather darkly) name plate. She eyed Tenten suspiciously upon seeing her with Sasuke, almost shooting lightning bolts at Tenten with her eyes, whilst batting her eyelashes at the Uchiha.

"I would like to collect the money from this cheque, please." Tenten said, handing the red head a slip of paper she had salvaged from the sea of documents Kakashi had given her.

Karin looked at her as if she was a bug, "Anything I can do for you, _Uchiha-sama_?" she said without looking at her but still taking the cheque. She shyly glanced at Sasuke.

Was the woman getting a kick just from saying the Uchiha's name? Her eyelashes were sure to fall off soon from all the fluttering she was using them for. Tenten breathed out. Was everyone here insane, perverted or shallow? She should start yoga to relieve stress.

Sasuke regarded the woman icily, not replying. This in turn only caused her to blush even more, her hands shaking as she counted the money for Tenten. Miraculously the woman got the right amount of money after roughly six minutes and finally handed it to Tenten in an envelope.

"Bye, _Uchiha-sama_!" Karin trilled as Tenten turned around and left, heading for the parking lot. This time she had inconspicuously looked for signs whilst waiting for her money, not wanting to be embarrassed by the Uchiha following her again. Not that she cared if he thought she was lost, it was just a tiny blow to her pride. Nothing to get this worked up over, she reprimanded herself.

Getting into her Jeep she closed the door harder than necessary. Looking up Tenten noticed said Uchiha regarding the car suspiciously.

"Is that piece of metal safe?"

Rolling down her window, Tenten just stared back at him, "Yes, Uchiha, this is known as a Jeep, from the species of cars. It does not offer leather seats but transport and I suggest you value that above comfort, because walking fifty-one kilometres is definitely not as pleasant as driving them. Any other issues your royal highness may want to bring to my attention? I would be pleased to answer them." Okay, maybe she was trying to piss him off a bit. He deserved it. As an added bonus, if he snapped, she could force the perverted man to find someone else to look after him.

Sasuke got into the car after another few seconds of eyeing the vehicle, "Where are we going?" He asked once he had sat down in the passenger seat.

"Zikea."

* * *

**A/N: **Dun, dun, dun! Does this ending even count as a cliffhanger? (O_o) -Mufin


	3. Sharing an apartment

**A/N: ** So glad I managed to get this chapter out (^_^) Exams were going on and all that annoying stuff, but here comes chapter three! -Mufin

**Warning:** Still the same, still crackish. rating stays at T.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. If I did Tenten would have the surname Akiyama (or any surname for that matter).

* * *

Custody ~MufinXoxo

Chapter 3: Sharing an apartment with someone you don't want to is a pain

In a large hall full of furniture many people were busy milling about. Within the midst of all the happy weekend shoppers stood Tenten, wondering how exactly she had landed in this predicament. She'd never done anything to deserve this, had she? Sasuke was busy sceptically eyeing the objects around him. Tenten snorted upon seeing his facial expression. He was trying to remain impassive, but she could clearly see his disdain leaking through.

"Don't like what you see, Uchiha?"

Sasuke gestured to a metal bed frame, "Even the ones in prison were of better quality."

"Did you stay in the deluxe cell?" Tenten responded, confidently striding up the row until she stopped in front of another frame, "Because I did not get enough money to buy you something royalty would sleep in. Plus if I spend less on this, I have more money for myself later."

"Money you are meant to be spending on me, I might add." Sasuke came up behind her.

"I'll need it for the counselling once the year is up." Tenten only retorted, "Now, which frame do you want? Zikea isn't that bad quality, it comes from Zweden. I quite like it."

Sasuke's glare obviously stated that he did not care much for her opinion. He walked up to a metal frame two beds down and stopped, "I want this one."

Tenten followed him, just as an ever so helpful shopping assistant decided to rush over. He had short brown hair and dark eyes. He was rather plain looking apart from his bright uniform with a shiny label, proclaiming him as _Yamato._

"Hello sir, are you thinking about buying this bed?" he glanced at Tenten, "I think it will need to bigger to accommodate both of you."

If looks could kill, the man would have dropped dead from the dirty looks Tenten and Sasuke were giving him.

Nevertheless the assistant continued, undeterred, "However I do recommend a wood variety. We have a new batch and I must say the wood is expertly crafted. I know my way with different types of woods and-"

"_I_ am buying this bed," Sasuke cut him off, "for _myself_. I do not intend on sharing it. At least not with her."

"You will not be sneaking around with other woman behind my back! At least not in _my_ apartment" Tenten vehemently said. The thought of the Uchiha in the room opposite hers with someone else made her want to throw up. She shook the mental image out of her head, disgusted with herself.

Sasuke smirked at her discomfort.

"Well, it is a queen-sized bed so I suppose you wanted to you could fit two people on it." Yamato replied, his eyes darting to and fro between the odd couple, "Sure you don't want to go for the wood variety, sir?"

"Yes." Sasuke answered icily.

Yamato nodded, "Okay." He gave them a slip of paper and turned around, off to badger another unsuspecting couple.

Not that Tenten and Sasuke would ever consider themselves a couple.

###

The Jeep pulled into its place and Tenten and Sasuke got out simultaneously, glad to no longer be in such close proximity of each other. Despite them both remaining calm on the outside, the realisation that living under the same roof normally meant that you were family, a couple or even worse- married- had hit both of them after the shopping assistant's comment.

Tenten grabbed the paper bags from the back, leaving Sasuke to carry the box containing the bed frame. She opened the door and headed straight for the stairs, leaving Sasuke to stop in front of the lift questioningly.

"Akiyama-san, there is a lift here."

"It doesn't work." Tenten said, not bothering to turn around, smirking when she heard Sasuke grumble something about stairs. "We're on the fourth floor."

Tenten started the bothersome trek up the stairs. Upon reaching her floor, she turned around to find Sasuke only slightly out of breath. Huh.

"This floor has three apartments," Tenten started, thinking she might as well explain, "Mine, or ours if you will, is apartment 4c at the end of the hall. 4a belongs to Sarutobi-san, who owns this apartment block as well as a few others. He lives there with his grandchild, Konohamaru, a rather loud boy." Tenten let out a sigh before continuing, "Our even louder neighbour, Deidara-san, believes in art of some sort. He has the largest apartment, though he lives alone. He uses most of the space for his artwork, which he mostly sets on fire." Tenten grumbled the last bit under her breath whilst striding down the corridor towards the door at its end.

Fumbling with her keys she somehow managed to fish them out of her bag, inserting them into the lock. She glanced at the milk bottles still rolling on the floor, thinking that she would get them later. She pushed the door open and went inside.

Sasuke went in behind her, setting down the box. He took the milk bottles as well before closing the door, "Where should I put these?"

Tenten looked up from the bags she had been sorting through on the small dining table, surprised the Uchiha was doing something useful. "Just in the fridge."

Sasuke wrinkled his nose more the closer he got to the kitchen. "Akiyama-san, something smells _really_ bad here."

Tenten was about to retort with something rude as the smell also hit her nose. She rushed to the open kitchen, quickly finding the source of the stench to be the toaster, her bread from earlier burned to a crisp. She groaned as her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she had not eaten since the evening before. It was already five o'clock in the afternoon, considering that they had taken ages shopping.

Sasuke closed the fridge doors, raising his eyebrows at the sound. He smirked.

"How about we eat something before we get your room ready?" Tenten suggested, ignoring his expression.

###

At Zikea Tenten had managed to grab some of that ready made food, so preparing dinner wasn't a big problem. Her fridge was almost devoid of anything edible as she hadn't gone shopping for almost a week, but she chose to ignore that fact. She would find something worth saving in there tomorrow.

Sasuke didn't say anything during dinner, making the whole situation rather awkward. They ate in silence, each focusing on their own plate and ignoring the other. It seemed as if the silence was something fragile hovering between them and may break at the slightest noise. Tenten was scared to even make a sound with her cutlery.

After dumping their plates in the sink, Tenten decided to give Sasuke a short tour of her little apartment, "So the kitchen is obviously open and connected with the living and dining room. This is my room, which you may not enter," she shot Sasuke a suspicious glance, " at all. That is the bathroom we have to share and that is your room. We may have to tidy it up first though."

As Tenten entered the room she remembered that 'tidying it up' was an understatement. The shelves were cluttered with various pieces of unfinished jewellery, but the completed jewellery was neatly stacked in box in the corner. Different types of raw metal were cluttered in the wardrobe and designs littered the floor. The desk pushed up against the window had hazardous looking equipment balanced precariously on it, threatening to fall down any minute.

Tenten let out a nervous laugh, scratching her head.

Sasuke visibly sweatdropped, "Tidy up?"

"Well it may have been an understatement..." Tenten trailed off, just as the doorbell rang, "I'll get it!" she said, eager to escape the uncomfortable feeling she had around the Uchiha. He made her feel uneasy. Nervous even.

At the door Tenten heard mumbling from the other side. She opened it only to find a young, dark skinned man with white hair and an equally dark skinned young woman with red hair arguing.

"What if we gave them a fright when the doorbell rang and they fainted? Or what if the accidentally jumped out of the window? Or what if-"

"Shut up Omoi!" The red haired woman said, punching the man with more force than necessary.

"Erm, can I help you?" Tenten asked tentatively.

"Yes," the woman turned to face her, "We are here to deliver this to Uchiha Sasuke."

"Eh, Karui, I don't think that's Uchiha Sasuke." Omoi muttered, rubbing the spot were he had been punched. "Not to mention her breasts are bigger than yours, so she can't be Uchiha Sasuke, as he is probably male."

Tenten blushed, whilst the woman called Karui sent Omoi flying with a well placed punch to his gut.

"Erm, I'll just take this then?" Tenten asked, pulling the package inside.

"Sure." Karui replied, heading towards the place were Omoi was rolling on the floor in pain.

Tenten quickly closed the door, hoping the man had enough sense to quickly run away.

* * *

**A/N: **Hope you guys enjoyed my Karui and Omoi scene :P. Review please? (^_^) -Mufin


	4. Restaurant visits are for boring people

**A/N:** Sasuke's point of view thingy in this chapter. There's later a switch between his and Tenten's. Hope you like it (^_^) - Mufin

**Warning:** Same as previous~

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Custody ~MufinXoxo

Chapter 4: Restaurant visits are for boring people

_*Sasuke*_

Sasuke had finally gotten settled into his new room (which meant he had to sleep on the couch the first day due to the difficulty of 'tidying' the room. It had, in his opinion, resembled a war zone. When Sunday evening rolled around they had finally managed to get the room in order and relocate the other objects into her room or the back of her Jeep).

Since then they had not spoken. Not a conversation that involved anything else than what-might-you-like-for-dinner. Tenten had been busy at work, and Sasuke had been in his room with the occasional journey to the TV in the living room. Currently his life involved sleeping, watching TV, sleeping, eating, watching TV, trying to have a decent shower in the over cluttered bathroom, sleeping, avoiding Tenten in the evenings (not that his pride would ever let him admit that he was), eating dinner with her in an awkward silence anyway, sleeping, going to work, watching TV and reading some more, sleeping, as well as multiple journeys to different shops in order to find earplugs good enough to withstand the noise from their neighbour, Deidara.

It was an impossible feat. Such earplugs did not exist.

Sasuke was rightfully starting to think his schedule was too repetitive, too monotonous and included too much sleeping. Since when did an Uchiha lead such a boring life? Prison had been more exciting.

His grumbling was interrupted by a loud knock on the door, "UCHIHA! We're leaving for prison! Now!"

Tenten in the mornings at six o'clock, pleasant as always. She really was waking him up like Kakashi had told her to, always knocking the door again to actually make sure he was awake.

Wait, had she said prison?

###

"Why," Sasuke asked, getting into the car, "are we going to prison?"

Tenten sighed. "The useless prison chief called me, at 6:12 in the morning if I may add, to tell me to bring you to prison before I go to work. And that's exactly what I am doing." She glared at him. As if it was his fault that her work required her to stand up at such an untimely hour. His only started at ten o'clock.

But, in order to avoid conflict (for once at least),Sasuke just nodded and the lapsed into silence. He altered between looking out of the window and back at Tenten. She looked tired, despite it only being Monday. She should really take the weekend off to relax, instead of working in that jewellery place until she collapsed. Sasuke looked back out of the window, ready to smack himself. Why would he of all people worry about her health? She might have once, a long time ago, appreciated him showing feelings for her, but that time was long gone. And he didn't care about her either.

###

More than half an hour later Sasuke found himself sitting in an insanely uncomfortable chair. That it was a metal chair went without saying of course. Opposite him sat Kakashi, reading a book. In a chair next to Kakashi sat a pale man, purple eye shadow rimming his yellow eyes. He had long, black hair.

Sasuke had to slam his fist on the table in order to get Kakashi's attention, "Why am I here?"

Kakashi regretfully placed his book on the table, "Do you know what day it is today?"

"Monday the 9th of March, the 10th day since I've been living with Tenten, meaning I have 355 days left until I'm officially released." He had been really bored the last few days.

"Ah, that is very interesting! You refer to Akiyama-san as Tenten, I see. Do you also call her Tenten when you speak with her?" the purple eye shadow man licked his lips, "Well, do you?"

"Er, no?" Sasuke responded.

"Hmm, interesting. Maybe you should, that you think of her as Tenten and not Akiyama-san is very interesting... it represents a positive, intimate relationship-"

Sasuke coughed, "Intimate?"

"-but that you are counting the days until you part is more of a negative thing..." he trailed off.

Kakashi stared at the purple eye shadow man. "Well, Uchiha-san, this is Orochimaru. He is your new counsellor, whom you will visit once a week. Normally on Mondays at seven o'clock in the morning. And the answer to my previous question is actually Akiyama-san's birthday."

"I suggest you buy her flowers." Orochimaru butted in.

"And a restaurant visit." Kakashi agreed, nodding.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows, "One, I don't have any money. Two, restaurant visits are for boring people."

###

For some reason he could not fathom, Sasuke found that he had ended in a flower shop, after previously calling in a restaurant to make reservations for a dinner for two. When the waiter on the other line asked if it was a romantic dinner, he almost slammed down the receiver.

The shop he was in at the moment was beautiful, despite his obvious lack of understanding for everything flower related. To his utmost defence he, Uchiha Sasuke, had been forced into entering this shop by Orochimaru, who had suddenly appeared very threatening and rather intimidating when he had refused. According to Kakashi he also used to be a convict in the prison, which did little to boost Sasuke's trust towards the man.

"Sasuke, is that you?" a loud voice asked behind him. Upon turning around Sasuke found himself being attacked by a rather annoying flurry of platinum blond hair and blue eyes.

Why, of all places, did he have to enter _Ino's_ flower shop?

He carefully detached himself from the unwanted bundle of affection and in a rather professional tone asked, "Do you have any flowers for birthdays?"

Ino blinked, before breaking into a wide grin and nudging him in the arm, "For a special someone, huh?" she suddenly frowned, "Why did you never get me flowers?"

Sasuke took a small, inconspicuous step away from Ino's reach and nudging. He frowned, too, "Ino, we never went out together."

"Oh," Ino blinked, "that must have been the reason. I always thought it was because you were slightly vain and didn't care for other people's feelings, but...Ooooooo, I think tulips would be good! Or maybe roses? Chrysanthemums? A snap dragon for deception?" she wandered off through the shop, deep in thought, leaving Sasuke standing were he was.

###

_*Tenten*_

"Happy birthday Tenten!" the other people in the jewellery shop cheered.

"We have something here for you." the shop owner said in her soft voice, stepping forward and handing Tenten a rather large, heavy parcel. A paper flower sat in the owners blue hair, her eyes twinkling as she gave Tenten her present.

"Thank you, Konan-san!" Tenten exclaimed, a grin almost splitting her face in half.

"Hey, ya doing anything today?" Temari sauntered over, giving Tenten a big hug, "I would invite you for something to eat, but I have a family thing to attend..." she trailed off, pulling a face.

"No way, it's okay. Restaurant visits are for boring people anyway."

"Don't let that Uchiha guy ruin your special day, understand?" Temari held her an arms length away, looking her over, before glancing at the clock. "I gotta dash now, see you tomorrow!"

"Bye Temari!"

The door swung shut and Tenten looked around the shop. Glass counters to display jewellery went all the way around the small room, a door behind them branching off to the workshop were it was created.

Konan spoke up, "You can go home too. I'll manage in the shop by myself until it closes. Anyway, you've been doing so much overtime lately without me even asking you to, so it's time you take a break."

"But–" Tenten started.

"Konan shook her head, "No buts."

Tenten nodded. Despite not wanting to leave, she couldn't help smiling anyway, "Bye, Konan-san!" she called as she exited the shop, walking away. She loved the shop and her co-workers, but maybe it really was time to take a small break.

It was her birthday after all.

###

Over one week had passed since Akiyama Tenten had commenced taking custody of Uchiha Sasuke.

Tenten, when she entered her apartment, had strongly believed she should get a medal for lasting that long.

Therefore, she was extremely surprised that Uchiha Sasuke had asked her out for dinner.

_Her_.

Out for _dinner_.

He had also gotten her flowers for her birthday.

Flowers. Her _birthday_. How did he know it was her birthday?

As a matter of fact, she was still in shock.

Maybe even a state of paralysis, considering how she was standing in front of him as if someone had just shot her with a tranquillizer dart.

Make that two darts.

"Tenten?"

His voice shook Tenten out of the coma like state she had entered.

Wait, had he just said Tenten instead of Akiyama-san?

She returned to her coma like state.

"Hello, Tenten? Do you want to go out for dinner or not?" he rubbed the back of his head, "It's fine if you are busy."

Ah, it had definitely been her name. And there was the whole dinner thing again. Maybe she should answer...

Tenten pulled herself together with a big gulp of air.

"Er, well sure. I was just really surprised that someone remembered my birthday." More like surprised that _Uchiha Sasuke_, the selfish bastard, had remembered her birthday and asked her out. "Just give me some time to get ready."

Tenten gave him a genuine smile, actually starting to feel happiness coursing throughout her body now after the initial numbness. Why was she so happy? She didn't know the answer.

Tenten turned around and almost skipped to the bathroom.

_Almost_.

* * *

**A/N: **I had to research the flower thing. The first site said a snap dragon was desire, but all the rest said deception. So, instead of getting a new flower name, I changed it to deception (^_^) snap dragon is just a too awesome flower name.  
On another note, please tell me what you thought of Sasuke's point of view and Ino's grand appearance :D – Mufin


	5. The extremely classy restaurant has

**A/N:** This is all in Tenten's POV again. Enjoy! - Mufin

**Warning:** Same as previous~

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, etcetera, etcetera.

* * *

Custody ~MufinXoxo

Chapter 5: The extremely classy restaurant has extremely classy visitors, cooks and waiters

They decided to walk to the restaurant, for fear that they would not find a place to park in. Sasuke was also not allowed to drive and Tenten tended towards being a crazy driver, banging the horn and such at every other car, when she was forced to drive in hectic and crowded situations.

Tenten had managed to salvage a dress in her messy room. It was deep red with a halter neck style, being tight until the waist when it fanned out and reached just below her knees falling in soft, silk waves. An embroidered flower covered part of the upper half, small red pearls lining the seam at the bottom. She had managed to twist her hair into a single bun high on her head with half a gallon of hairspray, yet some hairs had escaped and hung around her face, giving it a softer appearance. One of her self made necklaces dangled around her neck, stopping just before the begin of her cleavage. She also wore matching red earrings. Tenten decided to wear some red ballet flats to complete her outfit as she didn't want to risk stumbling onto her face in heels. Not to mention she barely owned any heels, not being that type of girl.

Sasuke ended just putting on a suit and a red tie. To his surprise it matched Tenten's dress, purely through a rather odd coincidence.

Thus the situation ended with Tenten and Sasuke walking side by side towards the restaurant in a comfortable silence, both not wanting to really speak. Tenten because she didn't want to ruin the moment by saying something rude and Sasuke because he was, well, Uchiha Sasuke. He simply did not really understand the concept of small talk.

Tenten kept sneaking glances at Sasuke from the corner of her eyes. God, he really did look good with his slightly spiky black hair. Probably kept that way without hairspray, but maybe she should just touch it to find out if it really was as soft as it looked, despite the spikiness...

_No, bad Tenten._ she told herself, _the selfish bastard is doing something nice for once and all you can suddenly think about is how you want to touch his hair? And maybe even more, I mean, look at those wonderful brown eyes..._

She blushed, realising the direction her thoughts were taking. She quickly looked away, noticing that she had been practically openly ogling him the past forty two seconds.

"Why are you blushing?" Sasuke asked, his deep voice having a pleasant resonance within Tenten's ears.

Tenten almost smacked herself again. _Stupid hormonal teenage girl! __You're an adult! __Just because he is wearing a bloody suit that makes his body look ten times better than usual is no reason to suddenly have these __thoughts!_

"Well, it's just kinda hot outside, you know?" Tenten blushed even deeper as her thoughts would not shut up. _Traitorous body. Aren't you on my side?_

Surprisingly Sasuke, who had been observing her for the last minute as she formulated an answer, also turned away when he noticed that she noticed that he was looking at her.

Great, now they were both flustered.

###

When arriving at the restaurant they jumped the line, giving Tenten a feeling of smugness. It wasn't every day that she got to jump a line holding so many rich people. She spotted the back of a man with long, brown hair tied loosely at the bottom.

Tenten felt a panicky feeling clawing at her heart, so she quickly swapped sides with Sasuke as she walked in. He only gave her a strange look, but otherwise didn't comment on her behaviour.

When they reached their table, Tenten was surprised to notice that Sasuke pulled out a chair for her.

"Thank you, Uchiha." she said, taking her spot. They were seated at a small, two man table with a white table cloth and a delicate flower in a crystal vase on the middle of the table. More types of cutlery then she could care to know where already placed out before her, and a white napkin was neatly folded to represent a swan.

_Damn, this place is classy! _Tenten found herself thinking.

"You can call me Sasuke. After all, we are living under the same roof for another year."

"Okay." Tenten found herself saying, "I suppose you can call me Tenten as well then." she smiled.

Sasuke looked as if he was about to say something important, before a waiter rudely interrupted them.

"Hello, my name is Yamato and I'll be your waiter for this evening."

Tenten's head whipped around in shock. "Is this some kind of joke?" she hissed.

"Why, madam, I can't possibly fathom what you mean." the waiter replied. "Now, what may I get you to drink? I understand the three course menu has already been ordered."

Sasuke spoke for both of them. "We'll both take some of the wine, no. 63 on the menu."

The waiter nodded and went off.

"You could have let me order myself." Tenten muttered, shooting a Sasuke a glance.

Sasuke looked slightly surprised at her complaint, "Does it really matter? I thought you didn't understand anything about wine and such. Most women don't."

"That's such a sexist thing to say!" Tenten found herself get riled up for the whole of the female race. She'd always had a slight feminist streak.

"Well, did you know which wine was which?"

Tenten looked away, refusing to reply to the question. Of course she didn't know which wine was which! She wasn't even Italian! She saw Sasuke smirk out of the corner of her eye, evidently taking her lack of response for his answer. Tenten found herself looking at all the other people coming into the restaurant, which was making her feel under dressed, despite the amount of mascara she had layered onto her eyelashes. Sasuke appeared bored, but Tenten wasn't really sure, since she refused to look at him.

After awhile the waiter came back, carrying two glasses and a dark green bottle of wine. He poured the red wine into the elegant shapes and Tenten noticed for the first time that he was wearing gloves.

_Just how posh is this place?_

"Are we having a lovers quarrel?" Yamato asked, looking at each of them. The glare they each sent him was apparently answer enough. "I knew they should have just shared the larger bed.." he muttered under his breath as he walked away.

"Why does he always think we are lovers?" Tenten grumbled, turning to look at Sasuke again.

"Well," Sasuke leaned back in his chair, "First, every time he's seen us we've been together, and we obviously live in the same house. Second, this is romantic dinner night, which explains all the couples flooding in. And third, it is hard to fathom for most people why someone as extremely good looking as myself would be single."

"You're a criminal. C-r-i-m-i-n-a-l! Nobody would want to go out with you!" Tenten pouted.

As if fate itself was trying to challenge her statement, a young waitress sauntered over. Stopping right in front of Sasuke. She suggestively trailed a hand up his chest, before whispering into his ear, "You know, if that girl over there gets to annoying, we could always find a corner, and I could show you something... interesting." she smiled seductively.

"Oi! 'The annoying girl' is still sitting here!" Tenten glowered at her, causing the waitress to shoot her a dirty look and walk away, shaking her hips in a rhythmic fashion. "Okay, that was just a slut." Tenten found her cheeks tingeing with embarrassment when she saw Sasuke staring at her in an amused fashion.

"And fourth," he concluded, as if the diversion had never taken place, "You act out the jealous girlfriend pretty convincingly."

###

For various reasons, Tenten decided to ignore Sasuke until the first course came. They had actually been getting along on the way to the restaurant. They had spoken in whole sentences without a single snide comment. He had pulled out her chair for her and ultimately he had invited her into this classy restaurant on her birthday. They had started talking to each other on a first name basis.

Those were all good points, right?

What annoyed Tenten though was that his comments about the couple thing had been right. She hated him within an inch of his life for what he had done to her in the past, yet she still acted jealous when another girl showed up. Key word; acted. She wasn't actually jealous, she kept on telling herself. Sasuke could hook up with whoever he wanted to, as long as they didn't come back to her place afterwards.

She hated him after all.

Nevertheless Tenten decided to push her hate aside, for the moment, when a soup and a skilfully made salad showed up, placed in front of her by the annoying waiter.

"Sasuke," she gulped. She'd gotten so used to screaming Uchiha through the house, it felt strange feeling his first name roll off her tongue, "which piece of cutlery do I use?"

"Speaking to me now, are we?" Sasuke relied mockingly, enjoying the enraged glint that appeared in her eyes, before suddenly vanishing. That was never a good sign.

"It's my birthday." Tenten told him, giving him a sugary smile, "Temari, that's Shikamaru's wife, said she'd kill you if you ruined my special day."

"Okay, it's that fork." he gestured to one of the many silver utensils that were arranged before her and she picked it up, studying it sceptically. "That woman is scary..." Sasuke shuddered.

"Why is it so hard to just use one fork for everything?" Tenten took the fork and unceremoniously pierced it through one of the leafy greens, placing it into her mouth. The taste of the dressing exploded in her mouth, a heavenly blend of spices and different oils. "This is so yummy..." Tenten looked up dreamily.

Sasuke barely suppressed a laugh.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur and Tenten found herself consuming more and more wine. She laughed at Sasuke's stories of his new work and he smirked when she told him of funny occasions with customers. The main course was a delicious stuffed duck, filled with apples, plums, apricots and even more fruit. Potato dumplings and buttered vegetables with a delicious sauce accompanied the duck, and Tenten found herself stuffing in more and more, despite her stomach having reached its limit a while ago.

When the final course, the dessert, came, served by the chef himself, Tenten felt like she was going to roll home, she'd eaten so much.

The chef looked surprised to see them, "Tenten? Uchiha?" he shot him a dark look, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Ah, Choji-kun! It's so wonderful to see you! Art thou the angel that crafted all this goodness?" Tenten looked up at him with big, chocolate eyes.

"Yes." Choji swelled a little at the praise.

"Then, pray tell Choji-kun, what is this I now have placed before me?" Tenten was slightly more than a bit tipsy.

"It's my speciality, an apple crumble served with caramel sauce and home made vanilla ice cream."

"'Tis food for the gods! Thank you, dear chef, for I shall now have a taste of this divine apple crumble!"

Choji turned to Sasuke, seeing that he couldn't get a straight answer out of Tenten.

"Uchiha, what is the meaning of this? You aren't trying something funny on Tenten, are you?"

"Relax, swirl face. I owe Tenten something, so I invited her for dinner on her birthday. Nothing more."

"No ulterior motives? Romantic thoughts?"

Sasuke raised a sceptical eyebrow. "No."

"Well, I have to go and check on the business group, but be nice. She had to go through a lot." with that said, Choji made his way to a large table with many neatly dressed people sitting around it.

"Oh no! The godly chef is heading for hell's swarm! Quick, dear knight, we must save him from this ghastly predicament!"

Sasuke looked at the business meeting more closely. His eyes rested on Hyuuga Neji, conversing with a tall, dark blond woman with dark eyes. She wore a beautiful purple dress and matching heels.

"That's Hyuuga, isn't it?"

"Why, dear knight, why art thou so knowing? 'Tis indeed Lord Hyuuga, but I wish to not speak to him at this given moment in the grand dance of time."

Neji and the woman he was conversing with both looked up, eyes falling on the pair. They started to make their way through the restaurant towards them.

"I fear it is time to go, damsel Tenten." Sasuke muttered, grabbing her wrist whilst placing money on the table and quickly dragging her out of the restaurant.

###

"Wait, dear knight!" Tenten said, shaking her hand out of Sasuke's grip, "Why art thou in such a rush?"

"You don't want to speak with Hyuuga guy, right? And I don't want to meet with the lady he was with."

Tenten nodded. It was all an understandable reason to make a dash for it, the few glasses of wine in her system were telling her. She absent mindedly nibbled at the chocolate brownie in her hand.

Sasuke openly stared, for the first time that night appearing completely flabbergasted. "Is that cake? From the restaurant?"

Tenten nodded again. "It looked so heavenly, this brownie, and I didn't get the to finish my dessert! Not to mention 'twas lying on that plate, waiting for a soul to fulfil its hidden desires."

"So you took the whole cake. With the pretty, expensive, crystal plate. That was planned as the grand final for the business meeting Hyuuga was attending."

"Yes, dear knight. But I thought 'twas just a rather large brownie." Tenten took another bite.

He just shook his head "Can I have a piece?"

"Of course, dear knight."

So that was how they got back to their apartment, Sasuke quietly snickering to himself the whole time and Tenten ranting about nothing and everything.

* * *

**A/N: **So... START OF SHAMELESS ADVERTISEMENT

I've started writing an original story on Wattpad (same pen name, MufinXoxo) called White Picket Fence. It is a humour/fantasy story. It would mean a lot to me if you guys checked it out :)

END OF SHAMELESS ADVERTISEMENT. :P

Tenten and Sasuke are starting to get past the hate phase o_O What will happen next? Mwuhahahaha, I know what will, since I have the plot worked out until chapter 10 or something. ;) What happened between them in the past? You guys can try and guess. Who is the lady Neji was talking to? I'll give you a hint, she occurs in the manga and in the anime. Therefore, feel free to leave a review, awesome comments could actually influence the story! ^_^ – Mufin


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